Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Can it really be?

School starts for Emily tomorrow. She went to one month of kindergarten before we moved from Cali. Unfortunately, the lovely state of Utah has a LAW that kids have to be 5 on or before Sept. 2 to go to kindergarten. Since her b-day is the end of October, she was not allowed to continue going to kindergarten here. We were pretty bummed about it, since she's so smart and loves to learn. But it was nice to have her home for an extra year. She grew in a lot of ways and I got to see it all!

Utah does have some flexibility in its school systems, however. We were allowed to have Emily assessed and, academically, she was very ready to go to first grade. So, we made the decision that she should skip kindergarten and jump right into first grade. We always knew she was a smartie, we just had to prove it. The teachers and principal were very impressed with her reading and math abilities.

So now, we're doing those last minute chores to be ready for tomorrow. Tonight we get to go to back-to-school night and meet teachers and all those other people that help run schools. Then tomorrow I'm sure I'll be crying my eyes out as I send her off by herself for an entire day (I did it for the entire first week of kindergarten in Cali!).

The first day of school seems to be one of those funny-myserious things. We anticipate it for the first 5 or 6 years of their lives, and then we cry our eyes out because we can't believe it's already here. And we spend our days wondering instead of watching and being involved in almost every minute of their lives. Is she really ready? Will she be Ok? What is she doing right now? Did she eat all her lunch? Are the big kids being nice?

It's just one of those bittersweet moments. You see what you'e embarking on and cherish where you've been.